201: Leon Logothetis: The Kindness Diaries

Leon Logothetis is a global adventurer, motivational speaker & philanthropist. It wasn’t always that way. He used to be a broker in the city of London where he felt uninspired and chronically depressed. He gave it all up for a life on the road. This radical life change was inspired by the inspirational movie The Motorcycle Diaries.

Leon has visited more than 90 countries and traveled to every continent. He is the host of the TV series Amazing Adventures Of A Nobody, which is broadcast across the world by National Geographic International and, over the course of three seasons, sees Leon cross America, the United Kingdom and Europe on just 5 dollars, 5 pounds, and 5 euros a day, respectively.

Leon has documented his travels for numerous media outlets including Good Morning America, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle,Outside, Good, Psychology Today, and The New York Times.

His book, Amazing Adventures of a Nobody, is in stores now. His new book The Kindness Diaries, published by Readers Digest, is available now and chronicles Leon’s circumnavigation of the globe on kindness.

Favorite Success Quote

“Never, never, never, never give up.”~Winston Churchill

Key Points

1. Removing Money Allows You to Connect with Others

During his travels, Leon found that by removing money from the equation (i.e. relying on kindness of strangers and not residual income to make his travels a success) he was able to connect for fully and openly with people.

When you remove money from the equation, you no longer have a sense of superiority, and you no longer act as if you have nothing to gain from genuine connection. When you rely on other people’s kindness instead of your own wallet, every person you meet becomes a treasure chest just waiting to be opened.

2. It’s About Kindness Not Money

Life is not about income, it’s about impact and kindness. It doesn’t matter whether you die penniless or a billionaire, if you did not impact others and live a life of joy and kindness, it was all for naught.

While money can empower you to live a life of greater impact and enable you to extend greater kindness towards others, it is not the end game. It is not the end all be all. It’s a tool, impact and kindness are the products you are trying to build.

3. Live a Life of Passion and Adventure

Too often, we get caught up in the social norms. We care so much about what society says, what mom & dad say, what our friends say, that we never pause to ask what do we have to say about all of this? Live life on your terms, doing things that make you passionate, otherwise, you will live a life of pain, boredom, and just plain unimportance.

4. Commit to Yourself

In line with the point above. If you want to start living a life of purpose, you need to commit to take care of yourself first. This is not saying that you become a self-centered, arrogant jerk, but rather that you realize that if you aren’t living a life of purpose and passion, then you will not be able to help others do the same.

5. It’s Ok to be Different

One of the most important lessons to learn is that it is ok to be different. As Mark Twain said, “If you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”

Are you on the side of the majority right now? Are you going with the flow because it is what everyone else is doing and what they expect you to do? Or are you living life to the fullest, grabbing it by the balls and going out with joy and excitement every day?